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Puerto Valor… Sixteen years had passed, and yet it looked the same as ever. Well, perhaps not as he recalled; paint peeled here and there, the streets looked smaller than they did in his mind, and… That building off to the west, that looked new and shiny.
There are lights dotted all around the entrance and a big, gaudy sign that reads "CASINO".
A casino… Sylv had heard of such rumours while he was on the road, that the Don of Puerto Valor had allowed such a building to be placed in his fair city. But why?
As he draws near Sylv can see a queue forming - and it's not even nine o'clock. People waiting, eager to gamble their gold… Perhaps, as the heir to the city, he ought to take a little look himself. Now that he's back in town, he needs to see what's going on, he tells himself, as he slides to the back and waits his turn.
Sylv doesn't need to wait too long before the bunny girl opens the doors, the punters walking in in an orderly fashion. Yet more lights, tapestries of red and gold adorned with crowns greeting them - and then a stairway leading down, underground. Of course it would be, though it's the worst-kept secret in the city - other than himself, of course.
As he follows the men, he recalls how from the bridge into the city he glimpsed a covered walkway leading into the very earth itself; this must be that.
Around the corner he turns, faint music drifting in from the casino, growing louder as he turns; yet more reds and golds, with even more lights, and… Is that a healslime? It is. It's sitting rotating slowly, atop a large tube containing an ever-pouring amount of gold coins - no doubt the punters' bets.
In he walks, stopping at the railing at the top, looking down on all that is; slot machines to the left, back and right of the room, encircling three tables that encircle the coin tube - poker tables, by the looks of things. More bunny girls are stationed at each, and there are a few more milling around. Off in the far corner stands a lone Valorian knight - the guard of this whole place.
Sylv stares at it all in awe and wonder; how did this all come to be? How did his papi - the Don of Puerto Valor - allow this to happen? Such a man of his standing and temper would never allow something like this to happen, not under his watch!
The attendant standing nearby greets Sylv, bringing him from his glittery stupor; he returns the greeting and decides to ask few questions. Over the course of the next few minutes he learns that the casino has only been around for ten years, and that the famed L'Académie de Notre Maitre des Médailles has a hand in running both it and the hotel next door.
Such bold endeavour, and still it seems impossible that his papi would have ever consented to such a thing. Had the city fallen on hard times a decade ago? None of it makes any sense, and so there's only one thing to do.
Sylv thanks the attendant before taking the stairs to his left, where he can get a better look of the lay of the land; not only are the numerous games all around him, but behind him and off to his right are two small restaurants. Keep the punters in and they'll be spending their gold not only on games, but refreshments as well; it's the perfect trap to keep the money flowing.
Sylv hangs back once he realises he's in the way, and he takes to taking a seat at a table in the nearest restaurant, watching the people passing by and those at the nearby slot machines.
All of this… It doesn't feel real. He simply can't believe that the casino exists, here in the city of knights. The only person who knows the ins and outs is the man himself, Don Rodrigo… But Sylv isn't quite ready to go back and talk to him again, not even after reconciliating after nearly two decades away from home. His papi may have welcomed him back into the fold readily, but… There's still a big wall between them that needs demolishing first.
Perhaps… A glass of wine, and a few hands of poker, might help to ease his nerves a little.